Historic Painting: “Self-Portrait with Vanitas Symbols” by David Bailly, 1651.
This curious Dutch painting from the 17th century is intended to remind its viewers of the transience and delicacy of life.
Sean Munger
Thin flat plastic slabs of my childhood: Remembering CED videodiscs.
Before there was VHS, BetaMax, LaserDiscs or DVDs, there were CEDs. Wait, what?
Fire off Long Island: The S.S. Lexington disaster.
In January 1840, one of the earliest mass transportation disasters of the industrial age claimed 139 lives. Why did it happen?
A bunny, boiled: “Fatal Attraction” and my strange history with it.
How this trashy thriller from the 1980s intersected with my own life in rather uncomfortable ways.
A timely warning: The prophetic words of Rutherford B. Hayes.
What we saw in the news this week ultimately stems from what Hayes warned us about.
Historic Photo: Paris in winter, near Saint-Augustin Church, 1952.
Paris was a bit bleak in the first few postwar years, but it never lost its charm or resilience.
Year’s end: The best of the Garden in 2025.
Goodbye to 2025. Here are what I think are the best articles I wrote this year.